Epaphus was the son of
Zeus and
Io, and his name means 'touching', from epaphao, 'to touch', '
stroke', since Io became pregnant simply by a touch of the hand of Zeus. His name is actually a
good example of 'wilful translation', since really he began
life as the
Egyptian bull-god Apis (with whom Herodotus equates him). To the name of
Apis was added the prefix pe-, and this produced the 'Greek' word that translates as 'touches'.
